Manchester City were pegged back late by Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with the visitors earning a 1–1 draw amid an unfamiliar performance.
For just the third time of his Man City tenure, Pep Guardiola didn’t make a single change to his starting XI for the third consecutive game, with the Cityzens entering Sunday’s bout off the back of victories over Manchester United and Napoli.
They were aiming to end a five-game winless run against the Gunners, who thumped Guardiola’s side 5–1 on this ground back in February. Periods of suffering were expected, but City benefitted from another cautious midfield selection from Mikel Arteta, which failed at Anfield and didn’t work again here.
Erling Haaland hasn’t always enjoyed his outings against Arsenal’s stellar centre back pairing, but he made a mockery of Gabriel in the build-up to his opener. City escaped a pinball-like sequence in the middle of the park with the ball, as Haaland held off the Brazilian defender, fed a bursting Tijjani Reijnders and subsequently eased beyond his marker to get in a position to finish off the most ruthless of counter-attacking sequences.
Inevitable 🤩
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16 goals in his last 11 competitive fixtures for club and country for Erling Haaland. pic.twitter.com/YBGeuUjxgP
Once Reijnders eventually found the Nordic hitman, there was little doubt that Arsenal were about to concede from open play for the first time this season.
City were then able to keep the hosts at arm’s length without testing David Raya themselves. Gianluigi Donnarumma held up from Arsenal’s set-pieces, and was forced into a strong save to deny Noni Madueke at the near post just before halftime.
The inevitable introductions of Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka lifted an impatient Emirates at the start of the second half, and City’s control was tested by a Gunners side now boasting a creative spark.
Arteta’s men came on strong in the search of an equaliser, with Eze testing Donnarumma and City’s block sinking deeper. However, the visitors did a sound job of ensuring their new Italian shot-stopper wasn’t overworked. Never before have we seen a Guardiola-led side embrace the counter-attack as they did on Sunday afternoon, and another slick transition sequence should’ve seen them double their lead.
This time, though, Haaland fired straight at a grateful Raya.
Arsenal’s early second-half momentum was eventually sapped by City’s stubbornness and Guardiola’s ideological U-turn, and it looked like the visitors were going to drive out of the Emirates with their bus in tact. However, the hosts, perhaps inspired by their title rivals, saved their best work for the death, as substitutes Eze and Gabriel Martinelli combined to peg City back. Martinelli’s finish over Donnarumma was superb.
The game ended with the points shared as focus shifts toward the Carabao Cup for both sides.
Man City ratings below.
Man City Player Ratings vs. Arsenal (4-1-4-1)
Subs not used: James Trafford (GK), Oscar Bobb, Divine Mukasa, Rico Lewis
Player of the Match: William Saliba (Arsenal)
Arsenal (4-3-3): David Raya; Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori; Martín Zubimendi, Declan Rice; Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyökeres, Leandro Trossard.
Subs: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Ben White, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Gabriel Martinelli, Christian Nørgaard, Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man City Player Ratings vs. Arsenal: Cityzens Suffer in 1–1 Draw at Emirates Stadium.
